Safe Injection Sites
In Vancouver’s downtown eastside sits a clinic that is unlike anything in Canada. It was established with the intention of creating a safe injection site for intravenous drug addicts. The first of its kind in North America, the clinic has garnered much controversy for its unorthodox form of treatment. The clinic assist drug users with the hopes of saving lives by preventing drug overdoses and reducing the spread of HIV infection and other blood-borne infections. Many argue that these supervised injection sites would increase the crime in the area, increase the use of drugs and encourage those who do not use drugs to try it. However, research has shown that none of this has occurred due to the clinic (Safe 2006). Although it is controversial, the clinic has received much support by researchers from different institutions including the University of McGill and the University of British Columbia.
The clinic named Insite, gives drug users access to an injection room where they are provided with clean injection equipment which include syringes, sterile cookers, filters, water and tourniquets while under the supervision of nurses and trained staff. Providing this equipment for drug users has resulted in the reduction of infections spreading. Once the drugs have been administered, the users are then moved into a post-injection room where they are given a glass of water and are allowed to rest until they feel ready to leave. While they are there, the staffs are available to help users with services that include care for wounds, infections, and addiction counseling and treatment services (Overview 2003).
Vancouver’s Downtown East side has some of the highest HIV and Hepatitis-C infection rates in the world (Safe 2006). The clinic has more than 10,000 unique individuals registered at Insite, between 750-800 visits per day and 257, 757 visits per year (Insite 2008). Having a safe facility to inject drugs has led to many improvements among the city. Studies have been administered in the surrounding areas of the facility to measure the impact of it. As equipment is being provided, it has reduced the number of public injections and the amount of litter related to injection materials in the streets. The rate of vehicle break-ins and theft has drastically declined while the number of users entering detoxification programs and addiction treatment has increased (Research 2007). There may be a correlation in this case as the users that may be inclined to break into vehicles to obtain money are now turning to programs to help rid them of the addictions that cause them to do the crimes in the first place. Insite has also helped to curb the amount of deaths due to overdoses. Their trained staffs are experienced in dealing with this issue and from the 500 overdoses that had occurred at the clinic, zero has resulted in death.
Insite functions under a constitutional exception to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. The exception they receive that allows them to help facilitate drug use expires in June of 2009. Since then supporters have been lobbying for the support from the government. However, the government states they will study the decision (Drug 2008). Even though Insite has received praise in more than 30 peer-reviewed medical journals, it still is not recognized as a medical facility and is still deemed temporary by the Conservative Government. Stephen Harper stated that Insite was "a second-best strategy at best, because if you remain a drug addict, I don't care how much harm you reduce, you're going to have a short and miserable life” (Bill 2008). Mark Wainberg, the director of the Mcgill University AIDS Centre in Montreal argued that Insite should remain open and that the government should be drafting legislation that would allow facilities like Incite to operate in other parts of Canada (Vancouver 2006). The lifetime costs for a new HIV patient are close to $500,000 US (Insite 2008). In retrospect, Insite has saved the government millions of dollars by drastically reducing the spread of HIV through the sharing of needles. As Insite is a preventative measure, it is harder to realize the impact it has caused to improve society. Health Minister Tony Clement announced that a $111 million package over five years would be introduced to help fund addiction treatment programs. Despite this cash infusion, Insite would not receive any as the Conservative government continues to shun the facility. However, there is hope as NDP legislator Jenny Kwan is introducing a private member’s bill that would legally define Insite as a health facility, essentially taking the clinic out of federal authority and giving the Province control over it (Bill 2008).
Initially it is easy to judge a facility like Insite with skepticism as the idea of a legal drug facility may seem ridiculous to most. However, drug use is a prevalent epidemic in society with very little signs of slowing down. The rapid growth of drug use is a strong indication of how current methods are not sufficient. This is where radical new ways need to be implemented. In this case, Insite has taken steps in unorthodox ways to treat a cause that has profound negative effects on society.
The following is a link to a pdf file from the Insite website depicting the stories of Insite users. Insite Stories
In Vancouver’s downtown eastside sits a clinic that is unlike anything in Canada. It was established with the intention of creating a safe injection site for intravenous drug addicts. The first of its kind in North America, the clinic has garnered much controversy for its unorthodox form of treatment. The clinic assist drug users with the hopes of saving lives by preventing drug overdoses and reducing the spread of HIV infection and other blood-borne infections. Many argue that these supervised injection sites would increase the crime in the area, increase the use of drugs and encourage those who do not use drugs to try it. However, research has shown that none of this has occurred due to the clinic (Safe 2006). Although it is controversial, the clinic has received much support by researchers from different institutions including the University of McGill and the University of British Columbia.
The clinic named Insite, gives drug users access to an injection room where they are provided with clean injection equipment which include syringes, sterile cookers, filters, water and tourniquets while under the supervision of nurses and trained staff. Providing this equipment for drug users has resulted in the reduction of infections spreading. Once the drugs have been administered, the users are then moved into a post-injection room where they are given a glass of water and are allowed to rest until they feel ready to leave. While they are there, the staffs are available to help users with services that include care for wounds, infections, and addiction counseling and treatment services (Overview 2003).
Vancouver’s Downtown East side has some of the highest HIV and Hepatitis-C infection rates in the world (Safe 2006). The clinic has more than 10,000 unique individuals registered at Insite, between 750-800 visits per day and 257, 757 visits per year (Insite 2008). Having a safe facility to inject drugs has led to many improvements among the city. Studies have been administered in the surrounding areas of the facility to measure the impact of it. As equipment is being provided, it has reduced the number of public injections and the amount of litter related to injection materials in the streets. The rate of vehicle break-ins and theft has drastically declined while the number of users entering detoxification programs and addiction treatment has increased (Research 2007). There may be a correlation in this case as the users that may be inclined to break into vehicles to obtain money are now turning to programs to help rid them of the addictions that cause them to do the crimes in the first place. Insite has also helped to curb the amount of deaths due to overdoses. Their trained staffs are experienced in dealing with this issue and from the 500 overdoses that had occurred at the clinic, zero has resulted in death.
Insite functions under a constitutional exception to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. The exception they receive that allows them to help facilitate drug use expires in June of 2009. Since then supporters have been lobbying for the support from the government. However, the government states they will study the decision (Drug 2008). Even though Insite has received praise in more than 30 peer-reviewed medical journals, it still is not recognized as a medical facility and is still deemed temporary by the Conservative Government. Stephen Harper stated that Insite was "a second-best strategy at best, because if you remain a drug addict, I don't care how much harm you reduce, you're going to have a short and miserable life” (Bill 2008). Mark Wainberg, the director of the Mcgill University AIDS Centre in Montreal argued that Insite should remain open and that the government should be drafting legislation that would allow facilities like Incite to operate in other parts of Canada (Vancouver 2006). The lifetime costs for a new HIV patient are close to $500,000 US (Insite 2008). In retrospect, Insite has saved the government millions of dollars by drastically reducing the spread of HIV through the sharing of needles. As Insite is a preventative measure, it is harder to realize the impact it has caused to improve society. Health Minister Tony Clement announced that a $111 million package over five years would be introduced to help fund addiction treatment programs. Despite this cash infusion, Insite would not receive any as the Conservative government continues to shun the facility. However, there is hope as NDP legislator Jenny Kwan is introducing a private member’s bill that would legally define Insite as a health facility, essentially taking the clinic out of federal authority and giving the Province control over it (Bill 2008).
Initially it is easy to judge a facility like Insite with skepticism as the idea of a legal drug facility may seem ridiculous to most. However, drug use is a prevalent epidemic in society with very little signs of slowing down. The rapid growth of drug use is a strong indication of how current methods are not sufficient. This is where radical new ways need to be implemented. In this case, Insite has taken steps in unorthodox ways to treat a cause that has profound negative effects on society.
The following is a link to a pdf file from the Insite website depicting the stories of Insite users.
Insite Stories
"Overview of Insite." Vancouver Coastal Health - British Columbia - Canada - Healthy Lives in Healthy Communities. 04 Mar. 2003. 04 Feb. 2009 <http://www.vch.ca/sis/docs/insite_overview.pdf>.
"Safe injection site should continue, B.C. criminologists report." CBCnews.ca -14 Aug. 2006. 04 Feb. 2009 <http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2006/08/14/bc-sis-report.html>.
"Insite by the numbers." Vancouver Coastal Health - British Columbia - Canada - Healthy Lives in Healthy Communities. 31 Mar. 2008. 04 Feb. 2009 <http://www.vch.ca/sis/docs/insite_numbers.pdf>.
"Research Results." Insite -Supervised Injection Site. 31 Mar. 2007. 4 Feb. 2009 <http://www.vch.ca/sis/research.htm>.
"Drug laws unconstitutional: B.C. Supreme Court." CBCnews.ca. 27 May 2008. 04 Feb. 2009 http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/05/27/bc-supreme-court-insite.html
"Bill could keep Vancouver injection site alive: NDP." CBCnews.ca. 16 May 2008. 04 Feb. 2009 <http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/05/16/bc-insite.html>.
"Vancouver's safe injection site successful: study." CBCnews.ca. 20 Nov. 2006. 4 Feb. 2009 <http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2006/11/20/injection-study.html>.